Tag Archives: black panthers

These days, what with the whole financial crisis and all, fundraising is getting tight for all kinds of cool projects. One of them is the Commemorator, a newspaper put out by some former Black Panthers, who I really like a lot. They run a literacy program, too. As I mentioned in my book, Farm City, the BP started school gardens long before it became the fashion. So when Melvin Dickson called and asked me to have a fundraiser for his group, I was more than happy to oblige.

I’ll be talking for the first part, reading from Farm City and maybe showing some slides about urban farms. I will also discuss my recent trip to Kenya and things I learned while there. After a break with refreshments, Melvin will take the stage and discuss a history of self-empowerment that the BPs promoted. I think he’s going to show this video of the school started by the Panthers, which makes you think about history in a very different way.

Here’s the 411:

Neibyl Proctor Library

6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland

February 12, 7pm

Free: but donations are gladly accepted to support the CCBPP’s literacy program. Books will be available for sale, and all proceeds go to the literacy program.